New signals at Exit 61

 The installation of traffic signals for the ramps at Exit 61 on U.S. Highway 78 (future Interstate 22) should go a long way toward improving traffic flow and safety in the area.

Motorists will no longer have to take the “hold your heart and go” approach in trying to exit the ramps onto State Highway 30.

State highway officials say the new traffic lights being installed should be operational in about two weeks.

Traffic signals already should have been installed at the congested and accident-prone intersection.

They were needed even before the construction of a Walgreens Pharmacy, a Lowe’s Home Improvement store and a Hampton Inn added to the traffic congestion in the past year.

When the new Vuteq plant opens a mile down the road, traffic counts should go even higher on Highway 30.

The area near Exit 61 has become the commercial, fast-food restaurant and hotel center of the city. It doesn’t take a highway engineer to know that the ramps should have been signalized long ago.